


Death comes for all

by ukenceto



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett, Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: BITTERSWEET OLD MAN LOVE, I WAS SAD AND KEEP ANGSTING UP THE DADS SORRY, M/M, NOTICE THE DEATH TAG PLS, WALLKS INTO HELL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7790641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukenceto/pseuds/ukenceto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack knew he was living on a borrowed time for way too long, but when the time comes, Gabriel returns to him for one last dance under the stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Death comes for all

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TornThroughTheSwan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TornThroughTheSwan/gifts).



> So recently I re-read Reaper Man by sir Terry Pratchett and one of the last scenes gave me so many bittersweet feeling for Reaper76 that I had to imagine something like it with them. So if this reads familiar, remember even Death knew how to tango.
> 
> Another reference at the end is from Witches Abroad because Baron Samedi and Reaper... Well there's so much fitting lore for them, not to mention that I love the Discworld books to death. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this ficlet and despite the angst, there's some sweet ol' lovin' in there too :) 
> 
> Big thanks to my lovely friend @SocialDeception for beta-ing!!!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zEgXM8ze-0 music inspiration

Death comes for all

#

The soft whisper of the ocean as its waves caressed the shore was the only sound in the velvet of the night, oddly gentle, like a lover's kiss in the slight chill of the air.

The curtains danced along with the breeze which carried the scent of salt and something unique to the summer's last days, like a memory of long gone warmth, before the cold returned again.

Slowing down and soundlessly fading into the shadows, he realized how long it had been since he played such close mind to details like those. When was the last time anything but the odor of the battlefield, of gunpowder, blood and death had reached his senses?.

Yet this night was different than any other, despite the strange memories of the past it stirred within him, both painful and strangely gratifying sensation. Taking a deep breath he concentrated back on the present, snapping to attention as a stronger gush of wind passed through the room, sending papers flying around. Nearly bone white in the darkness, they scattered like doves before falling down slowly, finally motionless. The short life which the wind had granted them was gone in an instant, he mused, before reaching nearly instinctively to catch the closest page.

He was uncertain what made him do that, as there was nothing he could grant from the paper, nothing which mattered anyway.

His mind, however, had no such qualms as it devoured the words written in faded ink, each immobile as it stretched across the page like the passing of time. And much like it, showed him things which were long gone. So many words, as he picked page after page, enough to fill the autumn skies like the birds which gathered to escape the winter's frost.

Words which spoke of love and passion, words from and to a man he knew better than himself, one he had mapped out with his eyes and hands, the imprint of whom was etched so deeply into his soul, burning like a branding which refused to heal. Of all the scars he had, of the names and past he had buried, this man remained a smoldering weight upon his heart, one he knew would carry to all the graves life had granted him.

Paper falling forgotten from his grip, he moved across the wooden floor, with no other sound than the wind as it drifted through the open door. In the time a single breath would take, he was outside.

A small porch, bleached white from countless sunny days. A thin strip of sand being the only thing separating it from the ocean. A man wrapped in a blanket sat on the steps, his gaze lost somewhere only he could see. His white hair was stark against the night sky, just like the paper had been mere moments ago.

"Reaper," the man said simply, no more than an observation. Silence was his only answer. A sigh lost in the wind, before he spoke again. "I knew it would be you, one day. But not like this."

A smirk, one Reaper knew so well, but had not seen from so long. He kept silent, waiting, yearning to hear more of the man's gravelly voice, so fitting to the song of the ocean before them.

"Not like this… In a battle, captured by the enemy, another explosion… But not a  peaceful end, not where I would've had the time to just sit and think of the past," the sorrow clung to his voice like each raspy breath he fought for, from lungs that barely kept together anymore. He finally turned to the shadow form beside him as a hand reached to rest over his scarred cheek.

"Jack," the word left Reaper's lips more softly than he had intended. " _Mi amado…"_

He felt Jack lean into his touch and it was what finally broke the dam, sending all those memories which had risen earlier to drift free, to shine their pain into Gabriel's heart. Reaper always knew that his heart was the only weakness he had left, the only true remaining part of the man once known as Gabriel Reyes. And Jack Morrison was the one who had kept Gabriel alive, all those years.

Kneeling down in front of the old soldier, Reaper gently took his hands, and lifted them to his face, for once void of the usual mask. There was no need for the barn owl's omen anymore, he thought before kissing Jack's hands with softness that resurfaced from the same broken heart the man before him had torn apart for a countless time, just by this single moment which transpired between them.

"Gabriel-" Unseeing eyes shut tightly, Jack's hands caressed the ridges and curves of Reaper's face, a ghostly warmth left behind in their wake. "Why do we have this in the very end? Of all my regrets, leaving you behind was the one I can never forgive myself for."

"The days of the past were for the living, Jack. We were dead men long ago." Leaning closer to Jack, Reaper smiled briefly before pressing their lips together. It was a slow, deep kiss, holding bottomless yearning like the void of space, and the memory of another life, one filled with love and one with hatred.

"Do you remember, a late Autumn night much like this one. The sea was whispering in a forgotten language, and the air was cold, but neither of us felt it. You were burning as if fire was trapped under your skin as we laid across the sand…" Jack's voice was but a whisper against Reaper's lips, hands buried in his hair, holding him close.

"As I recall, we didn't lay still for too long…" Another smile, this one belonging to Gabriel. The things left unsaid between them were too many for the time they had left now. Arms wrapping around Jack tightly, he spoke fast into his ear, words rolling smoothly over his tongue, almost slipping into a language he had not spoken from too long. "This night however… Let me make this last night of ours worth it. Come with me to the town Jack, the dance has already started."

"Dance? Don't think I have it in me for that anymore," Jack rested his head against Reaper's shoulder. "Age does not spare even the enhanced soldiers, though you are probably an exception. As you've always been…"

Placing a kiss atop Jack's temple, Reaper sighed as he breathed in his scent. Warmth and a hint of cinnamon, he had never been able to explain it better. It was always Jack to him, nothing else. "Never heard of being only as old as you think you are? It may be worth a try."

"I have, though good luck explaining that to my knees." Jack paused for a moment, as if lost in thought. "On the other hand… I might just have it in me for one last dance. Don't expect me to do the same as we were twenty however."

"As long as you remember the steps, it's all that matters." Rising from his spot smoothly, Reaper extended a hand to Jack, who took it with a grumbled 'Thanks'.

"Lead the way." Holding onto Reaper's arm, Jack stood close to him, a small smile playing on his features.

"You're not taking your visor?" It was the only way Jack was able to see for a long time, from what Reaper knew. He couldn't think of why the man would decide to forsake it.

"At this time, there's nothing else I wish to see but you," interlacing their fingers together, Jack spoke with no remorse, no words left for him to hide. "And I do not need my eyes to feel you, regardless of how you have changed."

If Gabriel had meant to speak, his words were lost, the familiar tightness pressing into Reaper's neck. If he still breathed like a normal person that would've made him stop, but it was enough to throw him off balance even now. Holding Jack's hand tighter was the only reply he could muster, before they began walking, the sand soft like silk under the roughened soles of their feet.

The night sky was shining with countless stars, glimmering across it like spilled diamonds, but it meant nothing to Reaper, not when he could look at Jack as they walked side by side. Passing under brightly lit streets, through alleyways filled with candles, their light cascading softly over Jack's face.

"You are as beautiful as ever, _cariño,_ " the words left Reaper before he could stop himself, however Jack's  shy smile was well worth the pain which flared into his heart, at the thought of the first time he had called the other man that.

"No need to lie to me anymore, you know that," Jack said, turning to the side to hide his expression.

"I have never lied to you. No point in beginning now," Reaper retorted quickly, pulling Jack closer until their shoulders bumped, and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"I can hear the music." Tilting his head to the side, Jack continued to walk, fingers resting atop Reaper's arm. "Is there a carnival going on?"

"I guess the date has slipped your mind. October 31st, _Día de Muertos_ starts each year at this time." Feeling the slight shiver which left Jack at his words, Reaper pressed his lips against the spot behind the man's ear, knowing well what effect that would have on him.

A short laugh left Jack's throat, but he didn't pull away. "How awfully dramatic. Should've known better, it's you we're speaking of, after all."

"Believe it or not, it's not me who picks the time. I have a feeling about it, call it an intuition if you will." Reaper had never really had to explain to anyone what made him know when someone was about to die, but it was a feeling which felt as normal to him as breathing had in the past. Especially when the time came for Jack, the one person he had given— the one Gabriel Reyes had given his heart to, Reaper had known instantly.

Somehow without either of them noticing at first, they had reached the small town's centre. The music was much louder, and so were the cheers of the many people who had gathered across the street and over the balconies, lost in celebration. A man dressed in a long black coat and one with snow white hair could blend in perfectly into the mix of people in costumes and with a variety of skulls and other death motifs decorating everything.

"So many flowers…" Jack remarked somewhat absentmindedly, his senses working overtime to let him soak into his surroundings, a world he might have not been able to see, but could feel way better than most.

Reaper took a rose from a vase near one wall and placed in Jack's hand, stealing another kiss from him in the process. As their lips parted, he observed the redness which spread over Jack's pale skin, the way an array of small wrinkles adorned the corners of his eyes as he smiled.

When Jack brought the rose to his face and breathed in the sweet scent of the flower, another part of Gabriel awoke, crumbling Reaper's resolve bit by bit. Leaning into Jack again, he began whispering to him, telling him anything and everything his eyes stopped upon. He described the crimson red of the rose in Jack's hand, the colors which surrounded them, the glittering pieces of paper and flower petals which flew around them with the wind, the warm glow of the candles and the flow of the gowns of each person as they moved around them like the waters of a fast river.

"Dance with me, _mi amor…_ " With a last whisper, Reaper's hands slid across Jack's back and down to his hips, pulling him in and across the busy street, towards a wooden stage where many other couples danced as if the night would never end.

And for once, Jack laughed, following Gabriel's lead. They began with a slow dance, one of the first he had been taught, Jack realizing he hadn't even felt the time pass as they continued on.

The music filling Jack's senses, Gabriel in his arms and the steps of the dance turning quicker as they moved restlessly, lost in a world which only held the two of them and the desire that burned nearly electric in the air. The other dancers around them eventually walking away as the night kept on, but the music never stopped.

The passionate, yet sorrowful, cry of a violin rose high into the air, setting the melody to surpass all others, the rhythm of a heart drenched in love. The wooden stage was void save for the one couple pressed close together like their bodies were one, the moves of the dance flowing through them as if rising from the earth itself.

A one last tango, speaking without words, granting the retribution they both never thought would be bestowed upon them.

Jack's back was a graceful arch as he leaned back, nearly touching the ground, held by Gabriel's strong hands. The music had come to an end, shifting into another, slower melody, the deep and dark timbre of a cello. Opening his eyes, he could see bright light shining everywhere around him. And the smile of the man he never thought would see the same again. "Gabe?"

"Only as old as you think, remember?" Reaper's voice was soft as he helped Jack up, their foreheads touching, steps following the lead of the cello. His gaze never left the bright blue of Jack's eyes as they shone brighter than ever under the candlelight.

"So that is what the dance was about… Take what you had to while I was too busy to feel it." There was no more pain in Jack's lungs or his joints, no matter the hours in which they had danced. The sky was a deep shade of blue, one which held the promise of a dawn which was still too far away.

" _Mi alma…_ I took what I had to in the moment we first kissed, back at the house," there was pain in Reaper's voice, but also more love than he could have kept hidden. "This night however, along with my soul will forever belong to you."

"My heart, Gabriel… It has always been yours," Jack's voice was a whisper, but sounded light and clear in Reaper's mind, for one final time.

_Or maybe not._

#

He watched as the flames danced across the sand in front of the old house, devouring the last of the fluttering white pages, the paper charring and withering to ash as sparks flew into the air. There were no more letters left, and Reaper left himself disperse, turning into darkness smooth like the smoke which rose high above the ground.

The pain in him coiled as strong as ever, but he left his mind flow adrift until the cold air and the song of the sea were all which remained to remind him of Jack Morrison.

#

_Endless days chased the seasons but every year, on the night of Día de Muertos, when the night was almost over and the music took a hold of everyone's hearts, people would see two men appear out of the shadows, dancing across the streets with the energy of demons, restlessly caught in a fierce tango until the first light of the dawn fell across the skies._

_#_

_Fin._


End file.
